From Pine View Farm

Thought Police 0

The Fredericksburg, Va., Free Lance-Star reports on efforts to censor books in the Spotsylvania County public schools. You can follow the link for the story, but this sentence leapt out at me (emphasis added):

The county continues to field book challenges, most of them initiated by one parent.

Welcome to the unfree marketplace of ideas.

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If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better,
Voter Fraud Fraudster Dept.
0

For example.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Peter Gärdenfors points out that (emphasis added)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly made remarkable progress in recent years, demonstrating its ability to process vast amounts of data and perform complex tasks. However, it is crucial to recognize that AI lacks a fundamental quality that humans possess: judgment.

Follow the link for his explanation of how he came to that conclusion and why he considers it important.

(Broken link fixed.)

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QOTD 0

Weaver Levy, as George Moon:

The innocent trust; the wise are wary.

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Time for a Coffee Break 0

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This New Gilded Age 0

LZ Granderson wonders whether Republicans have ever read any of the works of Charles Dickens.

Here’s how his article starts:

High school freshman girls should not double as cocktail waitresses at night.

That’s not a sentence I thought needed to be said, but here we are in 2023, and conservative lawmakers in more than 10 states are making efforts to roll back child labor laws. Cocktail waitress is just one of the disturbing occupations floated as appropriate work for children.

Iowa enacted a law last month allowing more kids to work more dangerous jobs. In Arkansas, a 14-year-old would no longer need to show an employer proof of parental approval.

Now the arguments against this movement are painfully obvious, but the so-called case for child labor requires unpacking.

Follow the link for the unpacking.

Afterthought:

As Republicans reintroduce child labor while barring immigrants who are willing to work, I am again reminded of Professor Shade’s mantra, “History is irony.”

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Republican Family Values 0

Woman holding sign reading

Via Job’s Anger.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society’ 0

Another “responsible gun owner” performs a random act of politeness.

We are a society of stupid.

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Boebert Is the New Gohmert 0

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American Taliban 0

The writer of a letter to the editor of the Portland Press-Herald sees a parallel.

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American Exceptionalism, by the Numbers 0

Title:  Children Killed by Guns in 2020.  Netherlands, 2.  Sweden, 4.  Austria, 4.  Japan, 5.  Belgium, 5.  U. K., 8.  Australia, 10.  Germany, 14.  Canada, 48.  France, 48.  America, 4,357.  Source:  Kaiser Family Foundation.

Via Job’s Anger.

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QOTD 0

Walter Gropius:

The mind is like an umbrella – it functions best when open.

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And Now for a Musical Interlude 0

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Misdirection Play, This New Gilded Age Dept. 0

Robert Reich details the decoys. A snippet:

Republican leaders have mastered the art of manufacturing crises to divert the public’s attention from the real crisis of our era — the siphoning off of income, wealth, and power by a small group at the top.

Follow the link for the debunking of de bunk.

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The Steel Fist 0

Sam and Greg Mitchell discuss the “Memorial Day Massacre” and the ensuing cover-up of the police riot.

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Believe Them When They Tell You Who They Are, Reprise 0

Florida Man’s Freudian slip.

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Precedented 0

Donald Trump, holding a cell phone, stands before a painting of a laughing Richard Nixon.  Voice on cell phone says,

Click to view the original image.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

How stupid does one have to be not to make sure a gun is unloaded before starting to dissemble it?

Finish reading this post »

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The Privatization Scam 0

Sucklers at the public teat.

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QOTD 0

Robert Gilpin:

Every dominant state, and particularly an empire, promotes a religion or ideology that justifies its domination over other states in the system.

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